New Orleans Hornets forward David West quietly and efficiently goes about his business

Michael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneThough he doesn't get much national recognition, hard-working Hornets forward David West has impressed NBA coaches enough to be chosen an All-Star reserve the past two seasons.

PHOENIX -- When Hornets forward David West approached his assigned area Friday for the All-Star Weekend media day session, he virtually sat alone.
On the other side of the ballroom, Lakers star Kobe Bryant had not even arrived and more than 25 television and newspaper reporters were waiting.

The crowd was so extensive for Cleveland star LeBron James that he came with two bodyguards. Hornets star point guard Chris Paul also drew a crowd.

However, throughout the one-hour, 15-minute session, there were never more than five or six reporters at a time gathered in front of West.

Since Paul arrived Thursday, Hornets officials have whisked him to various events that range from doing national television interviews to joining Michael Jordan for a Make-a-Wish event.

West's only scheduled event Friday, besides mandatory meetings involving the All-Star Game participants, was taking in a celebrity basketball game.

"I don't have much outside of the mandatory stuff, " West said. "I don't desire for all that stuff. I'm never going to promote myself to get selected to this thing. I just prefer to lay low and get some rest throughout the weekend."

West is not making his second consecutive All-Star Game appearance because of his popularity. In the fan balloting, he did not finish among the top 11 forwards. Despite playing in the league for 5 1/2 seasons, he does not have a major endorsement deal other than a shoe contract virtually all players receive once they get in the NBA.

However, West has garnered respect from the league coaches, who selected him as a reserve for the Western Conference team in Sunday night's game at the US Airways Center. West has not averaged less than 17.1 points since the 2005-06 season.

Although coaches have used various defenses to take away the Hornets' pick-and-pop play, West still consistently makes the mid-range shot off assists from Paul.

"He's never going to stand out for his flashy play, " Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. "He's just solid, and he makes shots. He rebounds and does all the little things that great players do. In some ways, he's a lot like Tim Duncan. You can think during the game that Duncan hadn't played that well. But you look at the stats after the game and he absolutely killed us. And that's what David West does. He does things quickly with the ball. When he scores he catches and shoots."

"He absolutely deserves to be here, " Duncan said. "He has been consistent over the last couple of years and has improved his game. He's shown that he is a staple of his team that has been playing very well."

Former Hornets guard J.R. Smith, who will participate in tonight's dunk contest in place of injured Rudy Gay, said West does a lot of things well.

"He rebounds, shoots and plays defense, " Smith said. "When I played for the Hornets, he was hurt a lot. But he has worked on his game."

Hornets Coach Byron Scott said West stays low key even around his teammates.

"Most of the time, he's with his wife and daughter, " Scott said. "But I think it's great that coaches in the Western Conference knows what he means and how good he is. He just doesn't seek the limelight."

While some of the players are hosting parties this weekend and making guest appearances to various All-Star-related events, West said he'd probably spend a lot of time reading in his hotel room.

"This is more of an opportunity for people in my family and friends to enjoy, " West said. "Making all the appearances and everything is not me. I'm not trying to put myself in a box. I'm not the guy who is going to sit around and talk about the top prospect. I take this for what it is -- a decent honor.

"But I know that I'm never going to be that guy that will get selected by the fan. I'm going to have to be selected by the coaches. That's OK, because people inside the game know exactly what type of game I have."